Friday, October 31, 2008

Consulate in Jeddah seeks close partnership with OFWs01/26/2008 04:46 PM

Philippine consul general to Jeddah Ezzedin Tago met with representatives of Filipino communities Friday to establish close partnership for effective consular services.

"We are not able to do everything; we are not Superman so we wish for your help and cooperation," Tago told leaders of Filipino communities during the meeting.

Over a hundred Filipino workers belonging to various groups in Jeddah attended the meeting.Tago asked expatriates to give feedback to improve the foreign post’s services. Philippine foreign mission officials who attended the meeting were Consul Jacob, Labor Attaché Bulyok Nilong,

Haj Attaché Sol Mutya, Asst. Labor Attaché Adam Mussa and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration officer Romeo Pablo.According to Tago, the discussions focused on problems encountered by OFWs, especially those who are in distress.He announced some enhancements in the consulate’s services, which he initiated since he assumed his post.Tago, who took over the Jeddah post from Consul General Pendosina N. Lomondot upon his arrival on Dec. 22, has listed down changes to ensure effective delivery of services to Filipinos there.

The official presented his consular commission on Jan. 1 to Ambassador Mohamed El-Tayeb, director general of Makkah Mukarama branch of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.He said that to add more accountability and transparency he will require their staff to wear an ID with a clear and printed name on it so that the OFWs would become familiar with the consulate’s staffmembers.

To enhance communication, the consulate has added new telephone lines to be made available soon, especially to those who are in need of help.According to him, the consulate will put up a hot line where the OFWs can communicate by calling or by sending text messages 24 hours a day in case of emergency.

The consulate has adopted the so-called community approach, characterized by consultations and discussions sessions.During the meeting on Friday, Tago welcomed comments, suggestions, complaints and recommendations from participating communities.

The Filipino groups present during the meeting were Bag-ong Bicol Saro, KASAPI Congress, Circulo Ilongo, Overseas Filipino Cooperative Council, Sining Likas sa Silangan art movement, Treskillion Alumni Organization and Filipino Community. "I'm quite optimistic about the views of the community leaders and I'm looking forward to meeting them again regularly so they can address their other concern,"

Tago said in a separate interview."We are trying to address the issues that were brought up either by immediate action or by referring those to Manila, especially with problems that have to doe with policies," he said.

He added that he expects more meetings in the future to deepen interaction with Filipinos communities for better cooperation and service. - Bong Concha, GMAnews.TV

The Philippine consulate general in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has advised stranded Filipinos to be cautious against fixers who pretend to offer help in exchange for huge fees.Consul General Ezzedin Tago issued the advisory as runaway Filipino workers wait at the Kandara District flyover wait to be picked up by Saudi immigration agents for deportation.

According to the advisory, fixers claim they are authorized by the consulate, or pose as agents of the foreign post. They go around offering arrangements for exit from Saudi Arabia through the deportation facility which is euphemistically called "the backdoor channel." Victims are made to pay an amount ranging SR 5OO (P5, 529) to SR 2,500 (P27,646) or even higher in some instances.

Tago said that the consulate has not authorized anyone to offer any such arrangement, and more so, to collect such fees.He said the consulate had received reports that fixers often leave their victims at some locations such as the Sharafiya near the Mahmoud Saeed Mall, or in open spaces under bridges, believed to be pick-up stations of Saudi deportation personnel.

Tago added that “the backdoor channel" is reserved only for alien workers who had been released from detention and for Muslims with expired Umrah and Hajj visas.He warned that those who have run away from their employers were risking arrest, investigation, and detention.Filipino pilgrims who have proofs of their identity and Hajj status should seek assistance from the consulate, he said. Runaway workers should seek the assistance of the Philippine Labor Office for the settlement of their cases.

Prior to the release of the advisory, some 60 Filipinos coming from different places in Saudi Arabia had begun gathering beside the Flyover in Kandara District.Stranded OFWsFilipino workers who claim to have been abused by their employers in Saudi Arabia have sought refuge under the Kandara Flyover, hoping that the police would arrest and deport them, GMA News’ 24-Oras reported Wednesday.“Matagal na kami dito. Karamihan sa amin may sakit na. Kailangan namin ng tulong ng gobyerno lalong-lalo na dahil wala kaming trabaho, pagkain (We have been here for a long time. Most of us are already sick.

We need government help especially that we no longer have jobs, food)," Fernando Francisco, one of the OFWs, told GMA News.He said his employer refused to send him home when he resigned. "I complained but I was not given any assistance that’s why I ran away."Imelda Remis from Davao said she run away from her work because her sponsor tried to rape her.

An OFW who asked not to be identified said they paid SR1, 800 (P19, 905) to a fixer who brought them to Jeddah for deportation.But the fixer placed most of them in a safe house before they were brought to the Kandara Flyover.In May 2007, a group of OFWs stayed under a bridge on King Fahad Road Sitten where they patiently waited for representatives from the embassy’s passport department to take them to the airport for deportation .

In that year, over 900 distressed OFWs were deported through the help of former Consul General Mohammed Pendosina Lomondot by using personal diplomacy.Meanwhile, Ambassador Antonio Villamor said in a telephone interview that he supported the advisory Tago issued.I am 100 percent in support of of the advisory, said Villamor, adding that "the embassy and the consulate are always for the welfare of the OFWs.

But we also have our limitations. We can extend help anytime, but it must be through legal means. "We don’t want to commit ourselves to help through illegal means because that is against our good relation with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We cannot correct a wrongdoing with another wrongdoing," he added. - Bong Concha, with report from Mark Ubalde, GMANews.TV

Filipino pilgrims in Jeddah advised to return home before visa lapses01/15/2008 11:24 PM

The Philippine consulate general in Jeddah has advised Filipino pilgrims to leave Saudi Arabia before their Hajj visa expires.Consul General Ezzedin Tago said he has asked his men to check the veracity of a newspaper report in Manila that at least 200 pilgrims have opted to stay in the kingdom to seek employment.

"To all our Filipino pilgrims, please comply with the condition of the Hajj visa and return to the Philippines before your visa expires," Tago said as he instructed Hajj attaché Sol Mutya to make sure that all Filipino pilgrims heed his call.Mutya explained however that it would be unfair to say that pilgrims who have not returned to the Philippines were in Saudi Arabia to look for jobs, which is in violation of their visa conditions.According to him, 2, 036 of the 4, 871 pilgrims have remained in the kingdom because they were still awaiting their flight schedules.Some 2, 835 pilgrims who participated in last month’s Hajj in Mecca have already returned to Manila.

Mutya said pilgrims should leave Saudi Arabia on or before January 18. There were some Filipinos however who could only be accommodated in the Jan 21 flight.Among the prominent personalities who went to Mecca to perform Hajj were former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste and her daughter Toni; Representatives Mujiv Hataman (Anak Mindanao party-list) and Yusuf H. Jikiri of Sulu; Governors Andal Ampatuan of Maguindanao, Sakur Tan of Sulu, and Sadikul A. Sahali of Tawi-Tawi; Bureau of Immigration Intelligence Chief Faisal Hussein; and, Datu Ali B. Sangki , executive director of the Office of Muslim Affairs (OMA).

Hajj 2007 was headed by the Amirul Hajj Commissioner Salic B. Dumarpa of the National Labor Relations Commission and Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr, presidential special envoy.During the Hajj season, three pilgrims died of natural causes.

One pilgrim was apprehended at the airport in Jeddah because of discrepancies in her passport entries. The Philippine Consulate hosted a Hajj night in honor of the Hajjis on December 24. - Ronaldo Concha, GMANews.TV

Various groups of Filipinos in Jeddah took turns Friday in hosting Christmas parties for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who ran away from their sponsors in Saudi Arabia.For the first time, three groups hosted separate Christmas parties for runaways in one night. Various groups and individuals expressed intension to give food and Christmas gifts to stranded OFWs, said welfare officer Romeo Pablo.

"Hindi ko na nga alam kung paano ko sila ise-schedule dahil sa halos nagkasabay-sabay sila" (I had difficulty arranging the schedule for each group who wanted to throw a party), Pablo said.Some 40 runaway OFWs are temporarily housed at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Center in Jeddah.“On Friday night, each group distributed food and gift items," said Danny Londonio, chairman of the Bag-ong Bicol Saro community based in Jeddah.

Londonio’s group was first to throw a party, followed by the Famous Achievers in the Middle East and the last was All Filipino Ten Pin Bowling Team.It has been a yearly tradition for Londonio’s group to host a Christmas party for OFWs who sought refuge at the OWWA center. Despite the hardships in our work, we made it a habit to make our distressed kababayans happy even once in a year. “A simple smile from their faces is cause for great joy for our group," Londonio said in Filipino.

The OWWA center was jam packed with Filipinos who came to celebrate Christmas with runaways. “We were so happy because each one of us received plenty of gifts, and that despite our problems we were still able to celebrate Christmas, said Genebel Cuaresma, one of those stranded at the OWWA center.The chairman of the All-Filipino Ten Pin Bowling team, who requested anonymity, said that his group was so happy for the chance to share a “little extra" of their blessings to “unlucky" OFWs. - Bong Concha, GMANews.TV

The Christmas homecoming of Leonora Somera, the 65-year-old Filipino shepherdess stranded in Saudi Arabia for two years, has been delayed due to immigration problems, according to the Philippine Labor Attache in Jeddah.

This development came even after members of the Filipino community in Jubail pooled funds to complete the amount needed to pay for the penalties for Somera’s expired iqama (residence permit).Somera left her hometown of San Jose in Nueva Ecija and worked in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Baha area in 1987 without receiving a regular salary.

She has a pending case for the collection of P784,000 in back pay but Somera earlier said she was willing to forgo the money just to be able to return to the Philippines and be reunited with her only daughter after 20 years of being away.Her daughter is now 24, and is said to be working in a hotel in Manila.

“Please help me go home. I want to see my daughter," Somera earlier appealed. Her daughter was only four years old when she decided to seek employment abroad following the death of her husband.

She worked as a bus conductor before leaving for overseas job.The fund-raising activity during the 2nd anniversary and general membership meeting of the Filipino community in Jubail last Friday, Dec. 14, raised 1, 634 riyals (about P18, 000), in addition to the P1, 661 riyals ((roughly P18, 500) collected from a previous fund drive.Community leaders Ador Tañedo and Robert Fajardo said that of the amount raised, 2, 600 riyals will be used to pay part of the penalties for Somera’s expired iqama, and the rest will be deposited to an account put up in her name at the Philippine National Bank.

Kind-hearted Filipinos in Jeddah had raised half of the 5, 200 riyals (abut P57, 700) needed to pay the penalties for the expired iqama to pave the way for the processing of Somera’s travel permit.Somera’s homecoming before Christmas became a possibility last week when the son of her previous employer showed up at the Philippine consulate in Jeddah and gave her a “no objection certificate," a requirement for the issuance of her exit visa.Mohammed Misfer Al Ghamdi, son of Somera’s previous employer, also gave her 2,000 riyals (roughly equivalent to P22, 000) pocket money.

Over the weekend, however, Musa said there were some immigration problems that may delay Somera’s homecoming."We are not losing our hope, we will continue to follow up her case," the labor attaché assured.Misfer Al-Ghamdi became Somera’s sponsor after his father died in early 1988. Somera had joined the family in Riyadh in December of 1987.But after her sponsor died, she moved to Al-Baha with her sponsor’s son, his wife and children.There they left her in a large house to look after their goats, while they moved to Makkah for the education of their children.

Her employers had since been leaving her inadequate money for her expenses and the animals.After long years and she was finally brought to the Philippine consulate in 2005 for assistance, her employers had declared insolvency and admitted they could not pay the salaries they owed her.Somera could not go home yet because of a pending labor case consular and labor officials helped file against her employers on her behalf.

But Somera said she was willing to waive her claims for back wages for as long as she could go home to the Philippines and be with her daughter.On her 65th birthday, Somera said her birthday wish was to “go home before Christmas… I am longing to see my family and my daughter." - Ronaldo Concha, GMANews.TV

A Filipino pilgrim died of stroke and another was caught by airport immigration agents in Jeddah as they prepare for the Islamic Hajj season in Saudi Arabia.

The fatality was identified as Jalad Padjing Dasid, a 64-year-old retired policeman from Zamboanga City. He was pronounced dead at 10 a.m. Friday after suffering a stroke at Al Noor Hospital in Makkah.In line with the Islam tradition, he was buried at 6 p.m. Dalib was accompanied to the pilgrimage by his daughter Berkis D. Talib.

Hajj Attache Soliman C. Mutya said pilgrim Saguira Manibpel from Sultan Kudarat was apprehended upon her arrival on Dec. 11 because of a discrepancy in her passport entries.

Jeddah Consul General Pendosina Lomondot instructed his men to locate and assist Manibpel in her trouble. Mutya said there are 5, 200 pilgrims from the Philippines to participate in the 2007 Hajj Season.

The first batch of 327 pilgrims arrived on November 20.Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor Datu Zaldy Ampatuan joined the group on Dec. 7.The Philippine pilgrim is headed by the Amirul Hajj (head of Hajj) Commissioner Salic B. Dumarpa of the National Labor Relations Commission and Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr, the presidential special envoy for the 2007 Hajj.

The Hajj ritual in Makkah will run from December 17 to 22. On December 24, the Philippine consulate in Jeddah will host a traditional Hajj night in honor of Dumarpa and Adiong.

A Filipino air conditioning technician in Jeddah died Wednesday in an apparent suicide, leaving behind two children aged 6 and 3 years old and his pregnant wife.

Marlon Martinez, who would mark his 30th birthday this month, was declared dead on arrival at the Dr. Erfan & Bagedo Hospital in Faisaliyah District at past 1 a.m., several minutes after he was found hanging in their apartment unit by his wife, Elenita.In an interview, Elenita, who works as a respiratory therapist at the same hospital, said her husband spent Tuesday night at his company’s accommodation because he wanted to be alone and think about their financial problems.

"I remember he was coming back and forth in our room, like he was thinking of something, then he also told me to put our kids to sleep, and lock the door," Elenita said.Both husband and wife hail from Barangay Tagbakin in Atimonan, Quezon province.“I was wondering about his confusing behavior that night. I was about to sleep when I heard a loud noise, like something fell in our sala, so I immediately went out of the room to find him already hanging at the sala," she added.“At first I thought he was just joking and it was like he was just standing because the roof is about almost two meters high only and he was 5 feet 10 inches tall so I told him not to play a joke on me like that," the wife further recalled.

But when she opened the lights, Elenita said she saw her husband already hanging lifeless. “I panicked and immediately held and pushed him up for a while to loosen the nylon cord tied around his neck," she said in between sobs.She then run to the kitchen and got a bread knife to cut the cord before calling out their neighbors for help.

Elenita said her husband appeared to be suffering from depression over financial problems since December last year when he was terminated from work by his previous employer."He was so worried that he was not working and I have become the breadwinner of the family. He kept telling me he was so sorry that he was not earning enough and that we were still unable to repay our debts," she narrated.Marlon sued his employer with the Saudi Labor Office for illegal termination of his contract.

The employer settled to release him to another employer in exchange for SR3,000.“We paid that amount because Balubaid was willing to hire my husband. However, the sponsor did not comply with his commitment and my husband felt so bad about the double injury inflicted on him," Elenita said in Pilipino.

As a result of the original sponsor’s alleged perfidy, Martinez had to leave the Kingdom in July and returned on Sept. 26 under the sponsorship of Balubaid.“Even then, he was always worried about our getting stuck in debt. I kept assuring him that we will soon recover but he was always worried," Elenita said.

Beth Renole, a family friend of the couple, said what Elenita did not know was that Martinez’s problems were aggravated by the denial of his loan application from his company for the hospitalization of his mother in the Philippines. “He was keeping his problems to himself because he did not want to compound the worries of his wife," Renole said in a separate interview. A nanny for the Martinez’s kids, who gave her name only as Tita Glo, said she also noticed that Martinez was always depressed. - Ronaldo Concha, GMANews.TV

The 65-year-old Filipino shepherdess who has been stranded in Saudi Arabia for two years may finally be able to see her only daughter and spend Christmas with her after 20 years of separation.

Philippine Labor Attache Adam Musa said documents for Somera’s repatriation to the Philippines on December 23 are currently being processed after the son of her previous employer showed up at the Philippine embassy on Monday and gave her a ‘No Objection Certificate" that would facilitate the issuance of her exit visa.

Mohammed Misfer Al Ghamdi, son of Somera’s previous employer, also gave her 2,000 riyals (roughly equivalent to P22, 000) pocket money.Somera had worked with the Al Ghamdi family in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Baha area since 1987 without receiving a regular salary.

She had claims of some P784,000 in back pay, which she earlier said she was willing to forego just to be able to go home and be with her daughter in the Philippines.Mohammed’s visit at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration’s resource center shortly before noon on Monday caught Somera by surprise, and brought her into tears.

She promptly hugged Mohammad upon seeing him and pleaded that she be allowed to return home. Mohammed told Somera that his father has fallen ill and is currently confined in a hospital.

He asked for her forgiveness and prayers for his recovery.Somera later said Mohammed grew up under her care, and that she felt closely with him. "Malapit sa akin ang batang iyon kaya ganoon na lang ang tuwa ko nang makita ko s’ya," Somera said."Masaya ako dahil dumating na ang anak ng amo ko at tutulungan n’ya na akong makauwi. Pinatawad ko na sila," the former shepherdess said with joy after her conversation with Mohammed.

Welfare officer Romeo Pablo said members of the Filipino community in Riyadh had already pooled enough money to pay the penalty for Somera’s expired Iqama or residence permit. Somera marked her 65th birthday on Sept. 12 at the Philippine consulate in Jeddah.

Consular officers and staffmembers tried to bring joy to the old woman who Somera worked as a shepherdess for 18 years in Al-Baha and has weathered unpaid salaries, ice storms and being arrested several times by the police.Her daughter is now 24, and works in a hotel in Manila.

Her daughter was only six years old when she decided to leave her hometown in Nueva Ecija seek employment abroad following the death of her husband. She worked as a bus conductor before leaving for overseas job.Misfer Al-Ghamdi became Somera’s sponsor after his father died in early 1988. Somera had joined the family in Riyadh in December of 1987.But after her sponsor died, she moved to Al-Baha with her sponsor’s son, his wife and children.

There they left her in a large house to look after their goats, while they moved to Makkah for the education of their children. Her employers had since been leaving her inadequate money for her expenses and the animals.After long years and she was finally brought to the Philippine consulate in 2005 for assistance, her employers had declared insolvency and admitted they could not pay the salaries they owed her.

Somera could not go home because of a pending labor case that consular and labor officials helped file against her employers on her behalf. But Somera said she was willing to waive her claims for back wages for as long as she could go home to the Philippines and be with her daughter.On her 65th birthday, Somera said her birthday wish was to “go home before Christmas… I am longing to see my family and my daughter." - Ronaldo Concha, GMANews.TV

Last Thursday’s standoff at the Peninsula Manila hotel in Makati City drew mixed reactions from Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia.Ciriaco Espino, a coordinator for Petro Rabigh, said the rebellious act by a group of soldiers led by Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and Senator Antonio Trillanes IV was yet another dark spot in the Philippines’ image before the international community.“Nakalulungkot din, sana hindi na nangyari ‘yon," Espino said.

Elvie Sanches, a clerk at Alhada Hospital in Taif, said it was good that Trillanes and his group were able to say what they felt. She was hoping the incident would drive the dollar up to benefit overseas Filipinos like her.

But Noel Bitang, an engineer in Dammam, did not agree in the manner the detained soldiers carried out their call for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to step down. He said the group may have the interest of the people in fighting for reforms, but he should have done it the right way.

Froilan Venturina, an operations engineer in Ras Tanura, believed that the Filipino people, particularly the OFWs, were tired of destabilization moves. “There is due process of law. Trillanes should have fought for his right in court. Why walk out and plead for help with the poor and helpless people?" he said when interviewed by Jeddah-based Arab News.

Ransam Pirote, an engineer at Aramco in Dhahran, said that the group of Trillanes showed they were really not committed to peace in the country.Christopher Castor, who works with Al Jumairah Marketing, said he didn’t care anymore about political developments in the country. “Nakakasawa na kasi. Hopeless na ang Pilipinas. Unmanageable na. Kung pwede nga lang i-give up ko na ang pagiging Filipino ko," he said out of desperation.

Eli Sarmiento, an employee at the National Commercial Bank, said what Trillanes and his group did must be condemned. “He has the mandate of the people and he must uphold the rule of law," he pointed out.

Arab News reported on Monday that Philippine Ambassador Antonio Villamor has reminded Filipinos in Saudi Arabia of the need to unite in view of last Thursday’s threat to democracy.“Before we achieve unity and harmony with others, we should have harmony within ourselves and our families," the online news site quoted Villamor as having said in a speech during the Filipino Community Day organized by the Saudi Arabia Hiligaynon, Inc. (SAHI) at the Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Amusement Park in Dammam.Villamor said the latest failed rebellion was another taint on the good image of Filipinos worldwide.“What is hurting our feelings is that we Filipinos in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are trying to unite, but at home so me of our leaders, like Senator Trillanes, are making trouble" Villamor said.“I cannot see the logic of what he and his group did last Thursday. Probably he has his reasons but I don’t think that is the right way of showing that he is discontented in the government," he said.

Villamor said that Trillanes should have thought of the millions of Filipinos working overseas to help their families and the Philippine economy as a whole, only to find their hard work undone by a senseless uprising.

“Those who are in the Philippines are destroying the goal of OFWs of showing to the world how good and united we are, particularly here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Villamor said. - with reports from Ronaldo Concha, GMANews.TV

READER'S FEEDBACK:

From: Reinerio Supsup (reinerio.supsup@gmail.com) in Abu Dhabi, UAESent: Monday, December 03, 2007 4:31 PMI would like to highlight a comment from a certain Christopher Castor from Al Jumairah Mktg KSA...I respect his opinion but I believe he must be thankful for being a Filipino. He must go home and see the Philippines before doing so. There are a lot of people who crave for a nationality but its my first time to hear someone giving up his nationality. I know he is desperate about his being an OFW toiling to support his family, he should know that he is not alone and he is actually luckier than millions of us working as OFW.Thanks.

Filipinos in Jeddah have been reminded to avoid fatty foods, exercise regularly, and adopt a healthy lifestyle.Philippine Consul General Pendosina Lomondot came up with the reminders as he noted that 141 Filipino workers from Saudi Arabia have died in the first nine months of the year.Of the number of deaths, 82 succumbed to cardiac arrest and other cardiovascular diseases, 29 perished in accidents, 16 died due to other illnesses and 14 passed away while still in the mother’s womb.

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s second largest city next to the capital of Riyadh, topped the list with 86 deaths, followed by Tabuk province with eight and Yanbu, with 6. Lomondot said the embassy has assisted in repatriating the remains of 80 of the Filipinos. Forty-four others were buried in Saudi while 17 are still pending for shipment.

“Our OFWs must control their eating habits. They must exercise, which is really the best to keep our body fit. We are the only one who can control ourselves. We all know that food here is inexpensive and we can eat any time but we are not getting younger anymore so we have to take care of ourselves," Lomondot said.

Rico Silva, who is in charge of the death section of the consulate’s Assistance to Nationals, said his office normally records an average of 15 deaths a month. “As far as I can remember, it (referring to the latest data) is higher than last year’s. It is really sad on our part to see our countrymen inside the casket and sending them home. I hope our kababayans must really take care (of themselves)," Silva said.

In a related story, the remains of Fernando Bohol, the OFW who died and was abandoned in a hospital without an identity more than four months ago, was finally repatriated to the Philippines.Silva said Bohol’s remains were taken out of the King Abd Aziz Morgue over the weekend and sent to the Philippines via Qatar Airways. - Ronaldo Concha, GMANews.TV

(Updated) A Filipino worker convicted in Saudi Arabia for the fatal stabbing of a Pakistani in October 2004 came back home Monday night.Ronilo Arandia, 46, arrived at 6:15 p.m. via Saudia SV flight 860 from Jeddah. He had served time in prison, according to Claro Cristobal, spokesman of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Arandia, alias Adelino Yawar, was among six convicted OFWs in Saudi whose death sentences were downgraded to jail terms early this year through representations of the Philippine government.

He hails from Cavite.Arandia, an employee of a royal household in Saudi Arabia, was charged for the October 23, 2004 killing of co-worker Jameel Abdul Rahman, a Pakistani national. Both were working at the Taif King Khaled Palace prior to the incident.He was arrested the same night and was brought to the Al Salamah Police Station for initial investigation, then transferred to Taif General Prison. He was convicted and was meted out a death sentence.

The Philippine consulate in Jeddah sought the assistance of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March 2005 to obtain the names and address of the next of kin of the victim in Pakistan. In June of the same year, a co-worker of Arandia informed the consulate that their office has contacted the victim’s family in Pakistan and showed interest in settling case out of court with the payment of “blood money."

On September 20, 2005, Arandia’s wife Corazon visited him in the prison, accompanied by a team from the Philippine consulate. During the visit, Corazon met Kemin Khan Zurqan, uncle and representative of the victim’s family, and discussed the possible settlement of the private rights of the case.

The uncle suggested that Mrs. Arandia meet the victim’s family in Pakistan. But the meeting was later deferred due to the refusal of the victim’s family to meet her, and instead asked the representative of the Pakistan Embassy to negotiate with Arandia’s kin on their behalf.On February 21, 2006, the Philippine consulate received a fax message about the successful negotiations led by representative from the Pakistan Embassy and the tribal authorities in Chakdara, Pakistan.

A copy of the Affidavit of Forgiveness issued by the family was also sent.On March 15, 2006, Consul General Pendosina Lomondot informed the director of the Taif General Prison that the heirs of the victim have already accepted the amount of SR 200, 000 (equivalent to P2.3 million) as blood money and have executed an Affidavit of Forgiveness in favor of Arandia.

With the private aspect of the case settled, the imposition of the capital punishment was waived and Arandia’s death sentence was downgraded to five years imprisonment, reckoned from the date of detention on October 21, 2004 to October 21, 2009 to serve the public aspect of the case.

But with the strong representation of Consul General Lomondot, who requested the Saudi Authorities for royal clemency, the request was finally granted following the Ramadan period and Arandia was set free on Nov. 14 and moved to the Briman Deportation Center in Jeddah three days later.

Lomondot immediately requested for Arandia’s immediate deportation.Lomondot sent the Philippine government’s gratitude to the Saudi authorities for their compassion to the Filipinos. - Ronald Concha, GMANews.TV

Negotiators in the tripartite talks on Mindanao peace held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from Nov 10 - 12 ended the meeting with high hopes in achieving their goals.The tripartite meeting between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP), the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) agreed on the mechanics of implementing the 1996 peace agreement.

At the close of the meeting, Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, OIC secretary general, raised expectation that the success of the meeting would build on the triumphs of previous peace endeavors.Misuari releaseIhsanoglu also expected that MNLF chair Nur Misuari would be able to join the next meeting to benefit from his contributions in the recent Jeddah talks.

He reminded the GRP camp of the OIC’s appeal “to expedite the legal processes for the early release of Misuari to enable him to participate in the talks and to continue his constructive role in leading the Bangsamoro people."Judge Winlove Dumayas of the Makati Regional Trial Court, Branch 59, allowed Misuari to attend the meeting in Jeddah on condition that he would go back to his detention in a house in Quezon City by November 13.

The head of the MNLF delegation Randolph Parcassio said in an interview that "the meeting is one giant step towards resolving the conflicting issues in the implementation of the 1996 peace agreement between the MNLF and the GRP."He cited the creation of five working groups, which will discuss the mechanics of the implementation of the peace agreement, as major breakthrough in the recent talks.

The groups would report on the result of their discussions in the next tripartite talks. Parcassio said his group was happy that the GRP panel did not insist on the use of Republic Act 9054, the law that expanded the organic component of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), as term of reference for the negotiations.

MNLF delegates objected to the use of RA 9054 and wanted that the 1996 peace agreement be the basis for the talks.The 1996 agreement affirmed the legitimacy of the Bangsamoro cause, even as it maintained the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Philippine republic.

The Agreement promised to expand both the powers and the territory of the ARMM. Undersecretary Nabil Tan, deputy presidential adviser on the peace process, assured negotiators of the GRP’s commitment to the 1996 agreement."And now we have achieved the purpose of this meeting which is preparatory to the tripartite. Alhamdulilah everybody adopted a very cooperative spirit and hopefully Inshaallah we can move this process forward, that has been delayed due to circumstances beyond our control," Tan was quoted as saying.

However, in a speech delivered by a representative, Misuari said that the MNLF would be forced to press their original demands for self-determination, decolonization, and independence of the Bangsamoro Homeland if the [rival] Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) wrapped up a formal peace deal with the GRP.He also asked the OIC and its 57 member states to search their conscience and be guided by their own charter to help the Bangsamoro people as they struggle for their human and political rights.

He reminded the OIC of its commitment in the Tripoli Agreement in 1976 to assist the MNLF in demanding for the independence of the Bangsamoro people’s homeland in Mindanao and Sulu and their former historic islands or territories if the GRP failed its commitments.

The OIC convened the Jeddah meeting in order to preserve the gains achieved through the 1996 Peace Agreement.In his opening remarks, Ihsanoglu said that the 1996 peace agreement ended long years of bloodshed and turmoil and opened a road that was full of hopes and great expectations.

However, obstacles impeded its full implementation.Key persons The meeting was chaired by Ambassador Rezlan I. Jenie, deputy minister for multilateral affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia and chair of the OIC peace committee for the Southern Philippines. It was attended by Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Libya, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Somalia and the new members from Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan. The delegation of the GRP was headed by Tan.The delegation of the MNLF was headed by MNLF legal adviser, Randolph Parcasio.

ConcernsThe meeting adopted a single agenda, which was to review the implementation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement between the GRP and MNLF - the progress made and obstacles encountered in the implementation.Negotiators agreed to establish five working groups to focus on the following topics: Shari'ah and judiciary; special regional security force and the unified command for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao; natural resources and economic development issues; political system; and education.

The working groups have the mandate to review implementation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement in their respective assigned topics and provide recommendations to move the implementation of the peace agreement forward. Each working group will be composed of three experts from both the GRP and the MNLF panels.

The meetings of the working group will be attended by representatives from the members of the OIC peace committee on the southern Philippines as facilitators.Each joint working group is expected to submit its first progress reports to the tripartite panel through the OIC by January 10, 2008. The report will be considered at the next tripartite meeting to be convened on January 14, 2008 in a place to be decided later. - Ronald Concha, GMANews.TV

JEDDAH - Muslims around the world celebrate today the Eid Al-Fitr or the celebration of breaking the fast, marking the end of Ramadan.Eid Al-Fitr falls on the first day of Shawwal, the month which follows Ramadan in the Islamic calendar.

It is a time to give to charity, and to celebrate with family and friends the completion of a month of blessings and joy. It also signals the start of a week long vacation to all private companies. And Filipinos are taking this opportunity to make sure they spend a fruitful vacation.

Bong Bonagua, who works as a cook at the US consulate in Jeddah, said he and his friends would spend four days of their vacation in Jordan. "We will rest and enjoy that historical place," he said.MJ Fabicon, who owns a catering business and a canteen in one of the Philippine schools here, organized a beach clean- up in Jeddah’s southern coastline.

The activity has been an annual tradition.Other Philippine schools would be very busy during the whole week of the Eid holidays for the first Philippine National Olympic in Jeddah running from October 13 to 17 with participants from all Philippine schools in the kingdom.According to Mrs. Ofelia Laguardia, principal of the Philippine Sunrise International School who initiated the event, said the project was organized in order to foster unity among the Philippine Schools all over the Kingdom.

Laguardia lamented that the Philippine schools in Alkhobar would not be able to join because they have their own Olympics.Others like Lina Dime, who is working in Elmagraphy Hospital, prefer to stay home with their families to rest. As Eid Al Fitr starts today (Oct. 12), celebrations will last for three days.

Muslims visit family members, enjoy special meals together and wear new clothes. Children receive gifts of money from their relatives and they get to enjoy amusement rides set up on the streets, and watch fireworks at night. - Ronaldo Concha, GMANews.TV

Six of the seven Filipino workers stranded in Jeddah since August will finally be reunited with their families in the Philippines.Two of them – Jeffrey Ponce and Patrocil Magdangal – actually planed in Thursday night on a Brunei airlines flight , while Rey Castulo, William Arimado, Jecson Gonzales and Raffy Flores are scheduled to arrive Friday afternoon on board a Singapore airlines flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The seventh – Robert Torcedo – decided to stay put and explore employment opportunities in Jeddah for his family here.

Tornedo, 32, gave up his job as a high school teacher in Aringay, La Union in the hope of earning more abroad. The seven workers were abandoned by their employer – Sawary Marketing and Development Group – at the airport in August without securing exit visas for them.

They were just given plane tickets with their passports."We are very happy that we were able to secure seats in spite of the holiday season," said Castulo before boarding his flight with a smile reflecting his excitement to be with his family again.

"At last we will go home now. I have all my documents with me and we are ready," said Flores. Flores, 30, of Angat, Bulacan, said their fears and homesickness have been aggravated by their cramped accommodation and meager food allowance.

The seven Filipinos arrived in Jeddah with two others on Aug. 18, 2006 to work as merchandisers at Sawary supermarkets. What they had were visitor's visas.They said they were promised by the agency that recruited them that their visitor visas would be converted into working visas after a given period in Jeddah.

They were paid P35,000 in placement fees to Alba International Placement Services Inc. plus P2, 825 for medical examination and P2, 500 for training.They were given receipts handwritten on plain paper, purportedly a practice of recruitment agencies to skirt a government-imposed limit on placement fees.

The workers said the processing of their application was so quick that they were all of a sudden told to get ready for their flight on Aug. 18, 2006, even though they did not go through a PDOS (pre-departure orientation seminar) as required by the POEA. The job applicants were told that the PDOS was just a waste of time, and that the agency would just pay for it. Their visit visa issued by the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Manila was good only for one month and was stamped “not permitted to work."However, the Filipinos were told by a certain Emy who introduced herself as vice president of Alba International Placement Service that it would be renewed every three months in Jeddah.

The placement agency gave the workers a letter to facilitate their departure in Manila and arrival in Jeddah. The letter said they were “invited by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under a visit visa."“This is also to certify that all the names mentioned above will be under our sponsorship and we guarantee their stay and safety while in the Kingdom.

All travel expenses incurred during travel to and from the Kingdom will be credit to our account.“We are issuing this guarantee letter to facilitate departure from Manila," the letter signed by Reda Hussein Basha, president of Sawary Marketing & Development Group, contained.In Jeddah, they were each paid SR938 ($250 or about 11,250 pesos) a month, including food allowance, by the supermarket chain owners.“We were duped into coming here to work illegally.

Our company promised to provide us work visas but until now we have not been given any," said Ponce,, a 30-year-old father of four from Angeles City, Pampanga.When they opted to be terminated last August, the workers were told to sign an Affidavit of Quit Claim by the Sawary management.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has suspended the license of Alba International to deploy workers while Sawary Marketing was barred from recruiting Filipinos. Before leaving Jeddah, the six workers profusely thanked Consul General Pendosina Lomondot, Assistance to Nationals Section chief Vicky Salian and Labor Attache Bulyok Nilong for helping them secure exit visas and be able to go home.

They likewise thanked Filipino community leaders Omar Salvacio of Sam Foundation and William Sol for providing them food and moral support while they were waiting for the processing of their travel document.In view of the case involving the stranded workers, the Philippine consular officers in Saudi Arabia warned Filipinos against accepting job offers using visit visas.“Unless you are looking for trouble, don’t attempt to come to work in Saudi Arabia without a work visa," said Lomondot.

The stranded workers said they learned from regular employees of Sawary that their group was the second batch of Filipinos recruited to work at the supermarket chain. The first group of 33 Filipinos demanded to be repatriated also because they were not provided legal working status. They, too, complained of poor accommodation.A third group of 23 arrived in Jeddah in March but they were sent home in May before their visit visas expired.All but three of those in the third group were sent home when one of them purportedly sought help from a police general about the failure of the company to provide work visas.

Flores said that because of the early exit of the third group, he and his colleagues were restrained from leaving when they asked to be repatriated in June.Their employer only grudgingly agreed to provide them plane tickets on August 6 after learning that they have sought help from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office.But when they were already at the airport, a Sawary staff came and tried to facilitate their exit but they were stopped at the immigration counter due to lack of an exit visa. “The Sawary representative just left us at the airport and we were forced again to commute. When we returned to the office, our employer refused to talk to us," said one of the seven.

This latest case involving the seven Filipinos should serve as a strong warning against others not to fall prey to similar recruitment schemes offering visit visas, according to the consul general. “Please remember that a visitor’s visa in Saudi Arabia cannot be converted to a work visa," Lomondot said in an earlier interview. – Ronaldo Concha, GMANews.TV

The workers also said the company charged them US$500 for their working visa and deducted medical insurance from their payroll but was not shouldering their hospital or medical expenses when they fall ill.

Their accommodation is also far from descent, the workers said. Six persons are assigned to occupy a container van with other nationalities.According to the workers, they were required to work 10 to 13 hours under the scorching heat of the sun without benefit of overtime pay.

The workers said they were not given salaries for the first three months of their employment, prompting their families back home to resort to loan sharks for their daily sustenance while waiting for remittances.Others who have finished their contracts were not allowed to go home.

The employer collects the workers’ iqama or residence permits.Last year, Albert Tambuyat broke his nose when he refused to surrender his Iqama to the same employer. The employer hit him with a cellular phone that landed on his nose. Tambuyat returned penniless to his family in the Philippines last month.

The Philippine Overseas Labor Office at the Jeddah consulate promptly established contact with the Filipinos’ employer to inform the company of the workers’ complaint. The employer went to the consulate on Sunday and offered to raise the workers’ wages and promised to allow them to go home on condition that they would immediately go back to work.

The employer expressed his willingness to sign an agreement in the presence of Labor Attache Buyoik Nilong but the Filipinos refused to return to work and insisted that they be paid their wages and be reimbursed the illegal deductions because they already wanted to go home.

The meeting ended on a sour note with the employer threatening the Filipinos with arrest for abandonment of duty. They were likewise suspected to keeping company properties such as keys for the heavy equipment some of the workers operate.The Filipinos said they did not want to go back to work for fear that their abusive employer would only subject them to harassment and intimidation.

The workers said they would rather file a complaint with the Saudi Labor Court against their employer

Joseph Espiritu and Ronnie Abeto of the V-Team – Advocacy Group promptly coordinated with the workers to provide them guidance in dealing with their employer,Abeto promised to get in touch with the Manila-based Center for Migrant Advocacy for assistance in coordinating with the Philippine government agencies in providing assistance to the abused Filipinos in Jeddah. - Ronaldo Concha, GMANews.TV

The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) governing council has sought the help of the Philippine embassy in Saudi Arabia in locating two Filipinos with pending compensation claims for losses resulting from Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

The UNCC is a subsidiary organ of the United Nations Security Council established in 1991 to process claims and pay compensation losses resulting from Iraq’s invasion and occupation of Kuwait.In response, the Philippine Claims and Compensation Secretariat at the Philippine embassy and consulate in Saudi Arabia issued a call on the whereabouts of Avelino B. Lumapas Jr and Romeo A. Tolentino, both 51 years old.

They were said to be working in Saudi Arabia and their claims have been ready since February.The UNCC gave Lumapas and Tolentino until Sunday, October 7 to get their compensation claims.The compensation is payable to successful claimants from a special fund that receives a percentage of the proceeds from sales of Iraqi oil.

The UN Security Council established Iraq's legal responsibility for such losses in its Resolution 687 on April 3, 1991.The UNCC has accepted for filing claims of individuals, corporations and governments, submitted by governments, as well as those submitted by international organizations for individuals who were not in a position to have their claims filed by a government. Since 1991, UNCC has received more than 2.6 million claims seeking a total of approximately US$368 billion in compensation. Nearly 100 governments have submitted claims for their nationals, corporations and/or themselves.

Thirteen offices of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), have also submitted claims for individuals who were not in a position to have their claims filed by governments.

There were six categories of claims. Category "A" claims are those submitted by individuals who had to depart from Kuwait or Iraq between the date of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on August 2,1990 and the date of the ceasefire, March 2,1991. Compensation for successful claims under Category “A" was set by the Governing Council at the fixed sum of US$2,500 for individual claimants and US$5,000 for families. Claimants under this category were entitled to $4,000 for individuals and $8,000 for families.

The UNCC received 920,000 Category “A" claims submitted by 77 governments and 13 offices of three international organizations, seeking a total of US$3.6 billion in compensation.From the Philippines, 39, 584 claims were filed under this category.

The category "A" panel of commissioners completed its work in 1996. The Governing Council has approved the payment of more than US$3.2 billion in compensation for over 860,000 successful category "A" claimants.

Under Category "B," claims are submitted by individuals who suffered serious personal injury or whose spouse, child or parent died as a result of Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait. Compensation for successful claims in this category was set at US$2,500 for individuals and up to US$10,000 for families.

The Commission received approximately 6,000 category "B" claims submitted by 47 governments and seven offices of three international organizations, seeking a total of approximately US$21 million in compensation.

The Philippines submitted 68 claims under Category “B."Category "C" covers individual claims for damages up to US$100,000 each. It can be made for 21 different types of losses, including those relating to departure from Kuwait or Iraq; personal injury; mental pain and anguish; loss of personal property; loss of bank accounts, stocks and other securities; loss of income; loss of real property; and individual business losses.

The Commission received approximately 420,000 category "C" claims submitted by 85 governments and eight offices of three international organizations, seeking a total of approximately US$9 billion in compensation. From the Philippines, UNCC recorded 6, 528 claims under this category. - GMANews.TV, with reports from Ronaldo Concha

The remains of Rosita Crisologo, a domestic helper who died of cancer in April at the welfare center in Riyadh, were finally brought to Manila on Friday.Crisologo was an undocumented worker who ran away from her employers in Taif.

Fellow OFWs brought her to the consulate in late March when she fell ill after a bathroom accident. Consulate officers tried to take her to the hospital in Riyadh but she was refused admission because of her status as an illegal worker and a runaway at that.Crisologo’s remains were deposited at the King Fahad Hospital while awaiting the release of necessary government permits for repatriation to her relatives in the Philippines.

On Wednesday, the consulate finally secured all the documents needed and retrieved Crisologo’s body from the hospital morgue and prepared for the Qatar Airways flight that reached Manila Friday afternoon. - Ronaldo Concha, GMANews.TV

The five-year-old son of an OFW couple in Jeddah slid and fell under a trailer truck that almost ran over him on Sept. 19. He died of internal injuries after 30 minutes.Adnan Catapang would have turned six years old on Oct. 27.

He was about to enter a store in their neighborhood at around 5:30 p.m. with a Sudanese friend of his father when he accidentally slipped and fell right under a parked 16-wheeler trailer truck. Before Adnan could get up, the truck driver who bought something from the same store started to roll, pinning down the boy. Adnan did not die right away. He was still on death throes when his father saw him. He is the second child of Omar, who has been working as denter/mechanic at Al-Suhaibani Co. in Jeddah and Maisa, a beautician in Riyadh.

Omar has been in Saudi Arabia for almost 20 years. Maisa has just recently returned from the Philippines.Both parents were at work when the accident happened.

Omar said he was about to take an afternoon break when one of his co-workers came rushing to tell him about the accident. He promptly ran to the store in the next street and brought the boy to the nearest clinic. But the clinic did not have the necessary equipment to treat the boy, so they moved to a hospital about 10 kilometers away, but Adnan already stopped breathing before they could reach the hospital.

Police detained the truck driver, a Bangladeshi. Editha Bardoni, an aunt of Adnan’s mother, said Adnan’s body bore a lump on the nape, making them suspect the boy died of internal hemorrhage.

The Catapang couple is inquiring from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) if they could be entitled to any assistance over the loss of their young son. - Ronaldo Concha, GMANews.TV

An 18-year-old Filipino waitress in Dubai is finally getting legal help from the Philippine government one month after she was allegedly raped by a Tunisian.

Rowena, not her real name, was detained when she went to the police to report that the Tunisian known only as Wahid sexually assaulted her last Aug. 13. The Tunisian was also taken to police custody but his lawyer claimed he was Rowena’s boyfriend, giving the police reason to charge her with carrying on an illicit relationship.

He was her supervisor in a French fine dining restaurant.Rowena appeared in court without a lawyer or interpreter, according to her Filipino friend and co-worker who identified herself as Olga. She remains in detention at the Bur Dubai Police Station.On Tuesday however, Dubai-based Khaleej Times reported that the Department of Foreign Affairs has agreed to provide the legal funds for the Consulate General to engage the services of a lawyer to defend Rowena.

Rowena’s case reached Philippine authorities through the Saudi-based V-Team Advocacy Group and the Center for Migrants Advocacy. Olga approached V-Team in a bid to get Rowena out of jail.Rafael Palencia Jr, senior officer at the consulate general-assistance to nationals section, said two suspects are in the hands of the Dubai police.

Rowena was also held for engaging in illicit relationship, being drunk at the time of the crime, and for providing false statement.Palencia said the consulate general has already hired a lawyer to represent Rowena in court this week. She has also been undergone medical examination and the findings would be presented to the Public Prosecution Office.According to Olga, her friend’s ordeal began on a day she reported at work even when she was feeling ill.

The restaurant’s catering manager fetched her from the outlet where she was working, supposedly to take her to a physician for treatment.Rowena took clothes from her apartment before proceeding to the hospital. But then, she was taken instead to the company employees’ quarters. By night time, she was fetched again and brought to a friend of her manager’s quarters.

Rowena was immediately taken to a doctor because she was complaining of body aches and abdominal pains. Olga said the Tunisian inserted a roll of tissue in Rowena's vaginal opening, supposedly to absorb his sperm.“We went to the hospital na sister company ng company namin kaya lang wala daw silang OB-Gyne kaya lumipat kami ng ibang hospital. They did a series of tests sa Iranian Hospital," Olga said.

After getting the medical examination result, Olga said she took Rowena to the police station to report what had happened. They reported the incident to the head office of the restaurant they were working.Unfortunately, the restaurant managers refused to believe Rowena and she was instead reprimanded for not reporting the incident to them before going to the police.“Sabi ko naman kung ang kaso ay simpleng sampal baka ganoon ang ginawa ko, pero ‘ka ko eh sensitibong kaso ang nangyari," Olga said.

The restaurant managers even terminated Olga’s services, apparently because of the support she has been extending to Rowena in pursuing the rape charge against the Tunisian supervisor.Days later, Olga and Rowena reported the incident to the consulate general.

Tinanong ko po kung pwede nilang matulungan si Rowena na mailabas, ang sabi po sa akin eh kailangan ibigay sa kanila ang report ng pangyayari," Olga said.Ellene Sana, executive director of the Manila-based Center for Migrant Advocacy, sent a letter of request to Consulate General Antonio Curameng in Dubai seeking legal assistance for Rowena. According to Olga, Rowena has received phone calls from an older sister of the Tunisian suspect, offering money, a house and other valuables if she would drop the rape case.

Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Libran Cabactulan has advised Filipinos facing legal problems to coordinate with either the Philippine embassy in Abu Dhabi or the consulate general in Dubai so that they could be properly represented.Cabactulan said that without proper legal representation, some victims may run the risk of compromising their case or the evidence they have to present in the court of law. - with reports from Ronaldo Concha, GMANews.TV

The stranded 65-year-old Filipino shepherdess in Saudi Arabia is hoping to return to the Philippines before Christmas and be reunited with her only daughter after 18 years of separation.Leonora Somera had worked in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Baha area since 1987 without receiving a regular salary.

Somera said earlier she is willing to forego some P784,000 in back pay just to get home.Financial assistance from fellow Filipinos and other nationals kept pouring in for Nanay Somera, as she was fondly called by the Filipino community in Jubail, since her case saw print last month.

Robert Constantino, Western Region business manager of the Philippine National Bank (PNB), said the bank has been getting a number of inquiries regarding the bank account opened two weeks ago in Somera’s name. Constantino has turned over the passbook for the bank account to Somera in the presence of welfare officer Adburajik Samain.

The account was in her name at the PNB’s branch in San Jose City, close to Somera’s hometown in Nueva Ecija province.The PNB account number is 471-530606-4. All donations for Somera can be deposited at any Telemoney branch in the Kingdom. Only Somera can withdraw the money in the Philippines.

Telemoney handles the Philippine National Bank’s financial services in the Kingdom.Somera’s first deposit to the account was the SR7,000 (P86,858) she received from her employer more than a year ago when he appeared at the consulate and pleaded insolvency.Ador Tanedo, president of one of the biggest and active organizations in Jubail, visited Somera at the welfare center inquired on how his group could help.Labor officer Digna Diaz said various groups have promised to help raise money for Somera’s air fare to Manila, and provide for her future in the Philippines.“We launched an awareness program of one riyal per OFW for Mrs. Somera and it will continue until she goes home. We are not trying to get the 63,000 riyals that was waived by Nanay Somera. We are just preparing for her future when she goes home. She is already old and we just want her to be in a secured situation in the Philippines,"

Tanedo said.According to him, community leader Tony Fajardo has expressed willingness to join Somera in her trip back home. Fajardo and Somera come from the same province of Nueva Ecija.Somera marked her 65th birthday on Sept. 12 at the Philippine consulate in Jeddah. Consular officers and staffmembers tried to bring joy to the old woman who Somera worked as a shepherdess for 18 years in Al-Baha and has weathered unpaid salaries, ice storms and being arrested several times by the police.Her daughter is now 24, and works in a hotel in Manila.

“Please help me go home. I want to see my daughter," she said. Her daughter was only six years old when she decided to seek employment abroad following the death of her husband. She worked as a bus conductor before leaving for overseas job.Misfer Al-Ghamdi became Somera’s sponsor after his father died in early 1988. Somera had joined the family in Riyadh in December of 1987.But after her sponsor died, she moved to Al-Baha with her sponsor’s son, his wife and children.There they left her in a large house to look after their goats, while they moved to Makkah for the education of their children. Her employers had since been leaving her inadequate money for her expenses and the animals.

After long years and she was finally brought to the Philippine consulate in 2005 for assistance, her employers had declared insolvency and admitted they could not pay the salaries they owed her.Somera could not go home yet because of a pending labor case consular and labor officials helped file against her employers on her behalf. But Somera said she was willing to waive her claims for back wages for as long as she could go home to the Philippines and be with her daughter.On her 65th birthday, Somera said her birthday wish was to “go home before Christmas… I am longing to see my family and my daughter." - Ronaldo Concha, GMANews.TV